


At Peace

by miseryroot



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Human AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 13:48:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15887283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miseryroot/pseuds/miseryroot
Summary: Lapis takes a mental health day.





	At Peace

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the song Cinema by Kero Kero Bonito.  
> Just a chill little one shot.

It was midday. The season was starting to change. Leaves slowly turning brown, the wind getting stronger by the day. It wasn't as hot during the day anymore, making these walks more pleasant overall for Lapis and everyone else in town.

It was one of those days. The days where she just needed to be alone, to get out of the house. It had been building up for weeks. She could feel herself getting more agitated and restless.

Her home starting to feel more and more like a prison. A nice prison, but she still couldn't shake the feeling of being stuck in place.

So she was taking some time for herself. It had started some time last year, these "Lapis Days".

She was having an awful time and was constantly snapping at Peridot, losing her cool over the smallest things. She was leaving the house less and less. She just didn't see the point anymore.

Peridot was worried. She called Steven over for dinner and a game night. Well, Lapis thought that was what he was coming over for. It ended up being more of an emotional intervention.

She lost it, furious at the two of them. But instead of leaving they just sat there and listened to her go off until she calmed down enough for them to talk.

They'd noticed her mood taking a turn for the worse. They wanted to help. So they presented her with "Lapis Day".

They said it like it was something exciting. To Lapis it sounded ridiculous and like there was no way it would help.

"Lapis Day" was a day where when Lapis felt distressed she could write Peridot a note saying she would be back and just leave. Turn her phone off and go wherever she wanted, do whatever she wanted.

And much to her surprise it did help. She had forgotten what it was like to go out alone, to do things as an individual. She was shocked to have gotten home and slept well for the first time in months.

It was like hitting the reset button. Like coming up for air and taking a moment to see the world.

Alone she could look at and notice whatever she wanted for as long as she wanted. Nothing was there to distract her from the rest of the world.

Today's Lapis Day she was going to do one of her favorite things.

She pushed the door to the coffee shop open, the bell ringing above her head and gathering the attention of the baristas.

She approached the counter and ordered the biggest cup of coffee she could along with a blueberry muffin.

Amethyst rang her up with a smirk, "No Peridot? So it's one of your days."

Lapis rolled her eyes and took her change from Amethyst's hands before sitting down and waiting for her coffee.

It was Lapis Day. She didn't have to talk to anyone if she didn't want to. Polite didn't have to exist today.

When her name was called she got up and retrieved her order from Garnet, who simply nodded at her in acknowledgement.

Lapis nodded back and left the shop. She walked until she got to the park. The sun was slowly getting lower and it was just the slightest bit chilly.

She sat on a bench by the tiny manmade lake and drank her coffee, absentmindedly eating half her muffin and watching the geese as they gathered around her.

Lapis liked the geese, mostly because Peridot had showed her they were a lot of fun to feed.

It made her chuckle to think of her girlfriend balling up pieces of bread and throwing it into a crowd of impatient birds with a loud cry of, "Bread for you!"

Lapis could never finish her muffin and it never tasted as good the next day. She pondered if it was the magic of Lapis Day that made them taste so good and maybe that's why they tasted so bland after, or if they just didn't keep well.

Maybe it was a bit of both.

So she chucked it to the geese when she was done with it and watched them fight over it as she drank her coffee.

She enjoyed watching them scramble over it and get blueberry stains on their beaks as they munched it down.

She knew they wouldn't be here much longer with the seasons changing. So she decided to fully appreciate their blueberry beaks and rude nature while she could.

Lapis Day always helped with that. Seeing the changes and accepting them. Nothing ever stayed the same. And that was good, but could also make her feel uneasy.

She sighed as she watched one scarf down the last piece and got up from the bench. On her way out of the park as she was about to toss her empty cup in the bin she noticed Garnet had drawn a thumbs up below her name. She scoffed, but grinned a little and threw it in the trash before moving along.

She looked around as she walked through the streets, seeing familiar faces. Pearl was at the car wash, chatting with Greg as she repaired his van once again.

There wasn't a doubt in Lapis' mind that Pearl was trying to convince him to replace it. 

Next she noticed Steven and Connie, rushing past on their bikes. His eyes lit up and he started to slow down, but upon seeing her alone and in no hurry he just waved at her with a giant smile on his face.

She returned it and waved back. She appreciated his understanding nature. She loved talking to Steven, but today she just wasn't up for it.

Lapis made her way to the old movie theatre and up to the ticket booth after looking at the lineup of movies for tonight. 

"One for Guess Whose Coming To Dinner at 5:30."

"It'll be four dollars please." Sadie smiled, her eyes holding a fair amount of sympathy, "One of those days, huh? Hope you feel better soon. Tell Peridot I said hi."

"I will." Was Lapis' only response as she paid and took her ticket.

It was almost time for her movie to start. She purchased a bag of popcorn and found the right theater. She walked into the dark room, seeing the credits rolling as Vidalia and Yellow Tail passed her with their youngest.

They were holding hands, Onion walking behind her, staring up at Lapis. He walked backwards out of the theater, making direct eye contact with her the whole time.

She shrugged it off and took her seat. She remembered being a weird kid too. 

Lapis thought on her bizarre, fuzzy memories of childhood until the credits finished and an animation of a candy bar and soda dancing popped up on the screen, informing the crowd to silence their cell phones and respect their fellow movie goers.

Lapis looked around. There was no one there but her. It seemed a Tuesday night around dinner time on a school day didn't make for a movie night for most people.

Perfect for her. She shoveled popcorn in her mouth by the fist full and let her thoughts drift away as the movie started.

By the time it was over her popcorn was long gone. She walked out of the theatre to be greeted by the sunset.

She took in a deep breath of the fresh air and pulled her jacket tighter around her body for a second.

She felt light, at peace. Maybe even happy as she turned her cell phone back on and saw her background; a picture of Peridot taking a nap with Pumpkin on the couch.

She decided to stop by somewhere nice before heading home, texting Peridot to tell her girlfriend she was taking care of dinner tonight.

The response she received was a bunch of exclaimation marks and a heart emoji.

\----------------------------------------------------------

Lapis opened the door to be greeted by an enthusiastic Pumpkin, jumping all over her. She laughed a bit and closed the door, taking her shoes off with one hand and petting the hyper dog at her side with the other.

She walked into the kitchen to find her girlfriend writing "PERIDOT DAY SATURDAY" on the white board they'd hung up in there. The capital letters were not lost on her and neither was the exhausted look on Peridot's face.

Lapis set their food on the table and wasted no time in pulling her short girlfriend into her arms.

"How was your day?" Peridot mumbled against Lapis' jacket, hugging her back tightly.

"It was good. Want me to make breakfast before you go on Peridot Day? Saturday morning burritos?" Lapis offered, smiling down at the blonde.

Green eyes watered up and Peridot sniffled, babbling out a "yes" and "thank you" as she started to cry in the safety of her girlfriend's embrace.

Lapis kissed the top of Peridot's head and rocked her side to side lightly, letting her cry it out.

Days get hard for everyone. She was glad to have an understanding partner and understanding friends. She was glad she could take a break when she needed to.

So as she held her sobbing girlfriend Lapis swore she'd make really good breakfast burritos on Saturday so her girlfriend could start her own mental health day off on a good note.


End file.
